June 14, 2012 - Throughout history, it's been
well documented that training is essential for
effective performance.

For the 17 immigration enforcement agents and
their supervisors assigned to the Air Operations
Division within U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement's Enforcement Removal Operations
(ERO), it's a must.

Day in and day out, these tireless ERO agents
escort criminal aliens as they are deported to
their country of origin or moved domestically.

The Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, which is
the research group for the Federal Aviation
Administration located in Oklahoma City, readies
these agents to handle unforeseen circumstances
during those flights. All Air Operations
personnel must attend the training.

"The course provides the agents with the basic
skills in the event of an aviation emergency,"
said Steve Lino, section chief, of the Kansas
City, Mo., based Air Operations Division. "Since
they are flying nearly every day of their
working lives, they need to be ready to react.
The familiarization and hands-on situations they
experience during the training gives them an
aviation perspective they might not otherwise
ever encounter in their careers."

During the four-day course, classroom study is
coupled with real-life simulated exercises to
teach students how to safely react to a range of
unpredictable scenarios. From recognizing fire
in the cabin to emergency landings and
evacuations, the scenarios run the gamut.

Additionally, they undergo aviation physiology
training to learn the signs of hypoxia and the
effects that flying has on the body. Once out of
the classroom and in a flight simulator, they
take part in an emergency ground landing, as
well as a water landing, using a pool and life
rafts. The immigration enforcement agents also
experience what it is like to be a restrained
passenger during an emergency and train on how
to effectively evacuate and manage those
passengers.

"Because they are working with restrained
criminal aliens, some of whom are uncooperative
and in an adverse environment, teamwork and
safety are paramount during each flight," said
Lino. "This training teaches them how to
communicate during stressful situations where
visibility may be nonexistent or the
surroundings that may formidable; lives may
depend on everyone understanding their roles and
coming together as a team."

Additionally with the sheer volume of weekly transports
– an average that sometimes exceeds 6,000 – the training
is invaluable, according to Lino. Utilizing eight
contracted aircraft, ICE Air Operations is the principal
mass air transportation and removal coordinating entity
within ERO.